“I’ve been busy too,” I said.
The brunette peeked over at my booth and her smile diminished. “Looks like it.”
Before she had a chance to turn the tables and question me about my guests, I eyed Moses Bachman, Daniel’s father. “Hello, Mr. Bachman. I wouldn’t expect to see you in town having lunch with the assistant DA and the former sheriff of Blood Rock.”
Moses’ cheeks reddened, but he didn’t get a chance to respond.
“Moses and I go back a long time, as you already know.” Tony Manning smirked. “It’s a free country.” He popped his neck, making a loud enough crack for everyone to hear. “This time of year, Florida gets a little too steamy for comfort, so the wife and I came north for the summer.” He smirked again, his crystal blue eyes sparking with challenge. “Nothing better than spending the winters in the south and summers in the north. Perhaps you’ll be so lucky, Sheriff.”
Visions of the man standing over me in a dark barn and kicking my stomach were still fresh in my mind. And I was certain he’d been the one who’d set my house on fire when I’d pried into his past and his relationships with the Amish authority. He’d gotten off easy because the DA and Mayor were his friends, and I was a newcomer. I was still bitter about it and what I really wanted to do was leap into the booth and punch his smug face.
I was good though. Tony was goading me and I knew it. He would like nothing better than for me to attack him in plain view of everyone. He probably had some delusion about getting his job back if I did. I caught a glimpse of Todd across the diner. He stretched out of our booth, observing the scene with wide eyes, looking like he was prepared to rush forward if I needed him. Or maybe he was planning to stop me from killing the former sheriff in front of half the town. Either way, Todd was a solid partner. He always watched my back.
I forced a confident smile. “I like the snow too much to leave in the winter.” I dismissed Tony Manning and settled my attention on the man seated beside Elayne.
She took the cue and spoke up. “This is Joshua Miller.” As if she was attempting to smooth over being caught with Tony Manning, she volunteered more information. “He’s moving here from Pennsylvania—” she gestured across the table at Moses and Tony “—and buying some combined land from them, along with Jonas Peachey’s farm.”
My face twisted at the news and Elayne hurriedly said, “I’m doing some real estate law on the side. Because of my former connection to the Amish community, I’m handling their closings.”
I wasn’t as concerned with Elayne’s involvement as I was with the fact that Jonas was selling his farm. He was a medicine man—a legitimate one. I’d seen his work firsthand, in both the medicinal and spiritual realms. I never used to be a believer in magical, miraculous healings, but I was now. He was the real deal, and he had been the number one suspect in a series of childbirth deaths among the Amish on my last case. It turned out his sister, Ada Mae, had been the one poisoning the victims, and Jonas had been exonerated of all crimes except fooling around with a slightly impaired young woman in another community. There weren’t any laws against being a jerk in this country.
“Is he moving back to Ohio with his girls?” I asked.
Moses answered, “We decided as a community that it was better for Jonas to leave. He’s returned to his previous home with his youngest daughter, Esta. He has family there to help him raise the child. Verna, the elder, remained here and is staying with Anna and myself.” Seeing my brows shoot up, he explained, “Jonas is Anna’s distant kin. We felt it was our duty to take the girl in so that she and Mervin could continue courting.” He scratched the side of his face. “Having a youngster in the house has been trying.” He shrugged. “But Anna’s enjoying the company.”
I snorted in my mind. I was sure it had been Daniel’s mother who’d insisted on having Verna stay in their home. In most respects, the men ruled within the community, but there were times when the women showed strength and got their way. Courtship matters were probably one of them.
Elayne spoke up. “It’s customary for young people to sometimes live in a community away from their parents during the courting process.”
Mervin was only sixteen years old. His brother had shot and killed Naomi Beiler out of cold-blooded jealousy because she didn’t return his favor, and he was now in a mental institution for the crime. His mother had tried to cover up the murder to protect her son. Verna’s family history wasn’t much better. Her aunt had killed her mother and a local girl through poisoning and struck a lighter after she’d purposely flooded a house with natural gas, causing an explosion that killed young Eli Bender, as well as injuring me and the bishop. To say Mervin and Verna were probably in for a bumpy relationship was putting it mildly, but their tender ages bothered me the most. They were still kids.
But the sun was shining brightly beyond the diner’s window, and it was difficult to stay immersed in dark thoughts. I swallowed, turning my attention to Mr. Miller. I reached my hand out. “Welcome to Blood Rock.” I tried to keep my voice level. “What part of Pennsylvania are you from?”
“Lancaster. Moses is my uncle and he’s been generous enough to arrange the sale of the properties for me so that my family can move here.”
“How does your wife feel about relocating?” I studied Joshua’s face closely. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties—the same age range that an Amish youth who worked on Buddy’s work crew fifteen years ago would be. His gray eyes were hard, giving me the impression of a man who didn’t let many people in.
“My wife passed away last year. I’m here with my children and my grandmother, who helps care for them.”
I immediately thought of Rowan Schwartz in the Poplar Springs settlement up north. He too had lost a young wife and put in charge of raising the kids. It seemed to be a common theme among the Amish nowadays.
Elayne frowned up at me and Moses looked away. Tony continued to smirk. I straightened and smiled politely. “Good luck to you, Joshua.” I glanced at Elayne. “I’ll touch base with you later this week. Enjoy your lunch.”
When I sat down beside Todd, I took a bite out of my sandwich and chewed. He looked sideways at me with raised brows while the marshals watched me in silence.
I swallowed. “Is Jerimiah Suggs the only name you have that isn’t matched to a person?”
John crossed his arms and nodded.
“We’ll find him—and the mysterious Amish boys,” I reassured him.
Toby laughed. “Sounds like we have ourselves a new partner, John.”
John cleared his throat. “Perhaps a temporary one. We owe it to Jim and Buddy to solve this one. I’m willing to step outside of protocol to get the job done.”
“I think we’re going to get along fine, marshals.” I took a sip of cola.
Todd shot me the Oh, no, not again look, but I ignored him. I was enjoying the pounding rhythm of anticipation in my gut too much to let him dampen my mood.
4
Rebecca struggled to pull a pair of soaked navy blue pants through the old-fashioned wringer, and then dropped them with a wet kersplat into the laundry basket with the others. Without missing a beat, she snatched another pair out of the tub filled with the rinse water and squeezed it with her hands to get rid of the excess moisture before she fed it through the wringing contraption that didn’t seem to work properly.
The process of doing laundry for an Amish woman was lengthy and tedious. My gaze shifted to the piles of towels, dresses and boy’s shirts separated neatly on the basement floor. Rebecca’s older daughter, Sarah, heaved up the heavy basket with the damp pants onto her hip and made her way out the doorway to the waiting clothes line. Water dripped in a steady stream from the basket as she crossed the basement floor. The front of her dress was soaked and yet she was still smiling as she worked. It was hard to believe the teenager was Daniel’s niece. Sometimes when I was with him, I completely forgot about his upbringin
g. Then I’d have moments like this, where I realized these were his roots, and it startled me.
Christina giggled, drawing my attention away from her older sister. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows as she swirled the towels in the sudsy water. The strong scent of bleach made my eyes sting and I cringed at the sight of a six-year-old child submersing her bare hands into the water.
I wrinkled my nose and turned away. This is their culture—they’re okay with it and so is the government, so it’s none of my damn business, I told myself for the hundredth time. By the look of horror on John’s face, he agreed with me, but Toby was too busy studying the gas pipes connecting to a refrigerator setup in the corner to pay any attention to the work the small child was doing.
Toby coughed to get Rebecca’s attention. “Are all of your appliances powered by natural gas?”
She stopped tugging on a fresh pair of pants. “Mostly. For some things we use batteries—” she tilted her head towards the wringer “—and others, we do it ourselves.”
“I’m sorry we came at a bad time,” I offered, but Rebecca shot me a frown and shook her head.
“You’re welcome anytime, Sheriff.” Her lips pulled back up and I saw a glimpse of Daniel in her features. “Besides, catching me when I’m not doing laundry, gardening, mending or preparing supper is difficult indeed.”
I couldn’t stop myself from commenting, “It’s a hard life.”
She dropped the last pair of damp pants into the basket waiting in Sarah’s arms, who’d quickly returned from the clothes line. “Keeping busy is a good thing. From what I’ve seen of your life, you’re going nonstop as well, just not the same kind of duties.”
I caught Toby wiping the smile from his face as he stepped up. She was right, in a way.
“Here Mamma, let me and Christina finish up here. You go talk to the sheriff.” She glanced at me. “I’m sure our laundry duties are putting them to sleep.”
Daniel’s niece looked to be about sixteen with the same dark hair as her uncle and mother, but where their eyes were brown, hers were sparkling green, like fresh cut grass. She appeared to be a dutiful Amish girl, but I sensed a reckless spirit inside of her. Her suggestion to her mother showed a sharp mind, too.
Rebecca reached for a towel on the counter and dried her hands. She said a few words to Sarah in Pennsylvania Dutch, a language I still hadn’t picked up, except for a few words and to know that it was a mixture of the Dutch and German languages with a few English words thrown in.
We followed Rebecca up the stairs and back into the sunlit kitchen that smelled like fresh-baked cookies. I inhaled the pleasant aroma and took a seat beside Toby at the table. John sat across from us. Rebecca insisted on pouring us cups of tea after she placed a plate of snickerdoodles between us.
John passed on the cookies, but Toby didn’t hesitate snatching one up. I nibbled mine, any angst about a six year old doing laundry by hand in this day and age evaporating. As long as the Amish were content with their way of life and kept on cooking and baking the way they did, little else mattered.
I spotted a quilt spread out on the frame in the adjoining room. It was all shades of blue, with pieces of floral patterned triangles woven into the design.
“Are you making that quilt with your girls?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Several other women in the community, including Ma and Katherine, are helping. It’ll be auctioned at the summer benefit dinner for the schoolhouse expenses,” she replied, taking the seat at the head of the table.
The cookie turned to chalk in my mouth. Katherine was the one Amish woman who I’d bonded with, and she was also Eli’s grieving mother.
“How is Katherine doing?” I looked away and back again. “I wanted to check in on her, but wasn’t sure if she was ready for visitors.”
A few strands of Rebecca’s hair had escaped from her white cap and she stuffed them back in. “She’s putting on a show for everyone else, but I know she isn’t recovered. I don’t think losing a child is something a mother ever gets over.” Her gaze became moist. “I’m sure she’d welcome a visit from you, though. Everyone in the community is grateful for what you did for Hannah and how you exposed Ada Mae’s sins.” She reached over the table and patted my hand. “You can’t save everybody, Serenity.”
I forced myself to swallow down the burning sensation in my throat. I wasn’t an emotional person and I was careful to hide my thoughts from others, but Daniel’s sister had read me like a book. On a mental level, I knew there was nothing I could have done to prevent Eli’s death when the Peachey house exploded. The bishop and I barely escaped with our own lives and Ada Mae had also been killed. But the guilt still kept me awake at night. Now both Naomi and Eli were gone—and not so long ago they’d been young lovers, sneaking off to a cornfield for stolen kisses on warm summer nights.
I couldn’t speak. John caught my eye and there was sympathy in his expression. He rescued me from the turmoil of my thoughts by speaking up.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Yoder. We don’t want to keep you from your chores any longer than necessary.” He crossed his arms and leaned over the table. “We’re investigating a murder that took place in Lancaster County about fifteen years ago. It’s been brought to our attention that some of the youth from Blood Rock traveled there in that time period and might know some information about the crime.” He lifted his hands. “Now, don’t get us wrong. We don’t believe these boys committed any crimes. We just want to ask them some questions, see what they might remember about the days leading up to the murder.”
John’s handling of the question was smooth and I glanced back at Rebecca to gauge her reaction. She chewed her bottom lip, and then looked at me.
She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Do you swear no one from our community is in trouble? My people have endured so much tragedy lately.”
My mouth thinned. “I’m sorry, I can’t make any promises, but Marshal Ruthers is being truthful. We don’t believe an Amish boy committed the crime, we just have some questions that need to be answered.” On a long shot, I added, “Do you know anyone by the name of Jerimiah Suggs?”
She shook her head. “No, never heard that name…” she trailed off.
“Do you know this new fellow, Joshua Miller, who’s moving into the community?” I asked on a whim.
“Not personally.” She held very still. “I’ve heard he has a sad story and that’s why he came here with his family.”
I met John’s and Toby’s wide-eyed looks with my own. So much tragedy happened within Amish communities. Accidents abounded, and matters that usually involved law enforcement were hidden from the outside and settled within their own authority. Most people had no idea how not cozy the lives of some Amish really were.
I wondered if Joshua Miller’s arrival meant anything or if it was just a coincidence. My personal experience told me there were few coincidences during criminal investigations. Without any leads to the contrary, I dismissed the Amish man for the time being—but I wouldn’t forget him. I had a feeling I’d have a chat with him sooner rather than later.
“It’s an important case, Rebecca. If you have any information at all that will help, please,” I coaxed.
She glanced at John, then at her fingers as they laced together. “I recall hearing something about the murder of a builder in Lancaster County a long time ago. I believe it happened near the Strasburg community.” She glanced around the room. “I know two from Blood Rock who spent time there when they were teenagers.”
John, Toby and I straightened in our chairs at her words. Rebecca hesitated, her eyes darting back to the basement door.
“We just want to ask them some questions—that’s all. Go on,” I urged.
She took a breath. “Seth Hershberger was one of them. He ended up marrying a Lancaster girl and never came back.”
My heart quickened when I aske
d, “Who was the other?”
“Lester Lapp.”
5
Late afternoon sun shone through the narrow gaps in the barn’s wall, making lines that sliced across the floor. The air smelled like hay and sweaty horse. It was a pleasant aroma that took the edge off the nerves I’d had since leaving Rebecca’s farm.
Toby stroked the black horse cross tied in the aisle, while we waited for Lester to return from the shed just outside the barn where a loud phone ringing had sounded a moment earlier.
John brought his hand to his mouth. “You know this man well?”
“No, not really, but we’re acquainted.” My stomach tightened. “His oldest son, David, shot and killed an Amish teenager last fall. The girl’s family and the entire community were so secretive, it was a difficult to crack the case.” As an afterthought, I added, “The young man was deemed mentally ill and is institutionalized now.”
John made a soft grunting nose. “Maybe it runs in the family?”
My lip turned up at the corner. “If that’s the case, it was his mother, Esther, he inherited the crazies from, not his dad. Lester’s easygoing and friendly. Not the type of person you’d expect to kill somebody, let alone bludgeon him to an almost unrecognizable state.”
“I’ve been surprised before,” John said.
Before I could answer, Lester returned, going straight to the horse. He smiled at Toby who began helping him unbuckle the harness, then he turned to me. “What brings you by, Sheriff? I hope nothing is amiss.”
The memory of the first time I’d met Lester tugged at me. It had been at the schoolhouse benefit auction. At that time, Daniel and I weren’t an item; instead, we pretended to be dating to infiltrate the community. Lester was one of Daniel’s oldest friends and the first person to approach the shunned man at the gathering. He’d been genuinely happy to hear that Daniel was settling down with a woman. It was a while before I learned his son had killed Naomi and that his wife had covered up the crime to protect her son. Since then, I’d become friendly with his youngest son, Mervin, and I’d been present when his injured leg was miraculously healed by Jonas Peachy. As I stared back at Lester while he patiently waited for me to answer, it struck me as odd that he’d been connected to both of the Amish cases I’d worked on in Blood Rock since becoming Sheriff.